Leicester City

[BigErnMcCracken]

It's official. What a story.

 

[UConnTrumbull]

To show how improbable this title run was

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

It's crazier than that. There was a sportsbook in England at the beginning of the season that was offering 5000 to 1 on Elvis being found alive and Kim Kardashian winning the presidency in 2020.

 

[champs99and04]

Were the bookmakers allowed go to beyond 5000? Sorta like how Florida International or whatever might be listed at 100000 to 1 to win the national championship but we know the actual odds aren't that high. I wonder what the real odds were - adjusting for the Vegas slant - or whether they are incalculable.

 

[Blue Blood]

Single biggest upset champion in sports history it is not close, especially given the format this wasn't single elimination like us hockey, this was sustained excellence throughout the season incredible

 

[3rdbass]

My bro who has been a liecester fan for about 15 years and even been to a game few years ago is super happy. He is also a husky fan of course. lol!!!

 

[UConn Esq]

Leicester City win the Premier League: their remarkable title by the numbers

Good article explaining the longshottedness (even has a UConn 2014 mention).

"Leicester City was a 5,000-1 longshot to win the Premier League before this season. Those are the same odds you could have gotten on 15-seed Cal State Bakersfield to win this year's NCAA tournament, or that English bookmakers William Hill would give you that Elvis Presley is found alive. By comparison, the longest preseason odds to win this year's World Series were 500-1 (Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves), and the longest odds to win next season's Super Bowl are 200-1 (Cleveland Browns)."

 

[Kitaman]

It's official. What a story.

They're calling it the greatest 'underdog' story ever in sports. For us non soccer fans what would you say this (5000-1) would be comparable to in the NFL or NBA for understanding?

 

[UConn Esq]

They're calling it the greatest 'underdog' story ever in sports. For us non soccer fans what would you say this (5000-1) would be comparable to in the NFL or NBA for understanding?

At the end of January, the Timberwolves sat 14-35 on the season, tied for next to last in the Western Conference. At that point, you could've bet on the Timberwolves at 5,000-1 to win the NBA title.

 

[johnhuskies95]

Most obvious comparison in my opinion for US sports has to be the '69 Mets.

 

[specialisthusky]

The 1980 miracle on ice team had 5 times better odds to win than LC.

I picked LC to follow after watching them win the championship two years ago. Can't claim to really be a fan but can't think of a better way to introduce myself to European soccer. I had no idea that in the past 20 years only 4 clubs have won the title until recently. That's insane.

 

[Leebo]

Most obvious comparison in my opinion for US sports has to be the '69 Mets.

According to this it's not quite in the same... ballpark.

Top 15 Sports Bets That Would Have Made You Rich

It has been said that some casinos were offering 1,000 to 1 odds at that point on the Mets to win the World Series, but most stories say it was 100 to 1.

 

[tcf15]

For those that don't watch soccer, like me, this is a good write up about the story of Leicester City. Pretty incredible: If you are not watching the Premier League, here is why you are missing out on the greatest underdog fairytale in the history of any professional sport. • /r/sports

 

[Robertelamin]

They're calling it the greatest 'underdog' story ever in sports. For us non soccer fans what would you say this (5000-1) would be comparable to in the NFL or NBA for understanding?

It would be like BC having a winning streak or PC winning a NCAA tournament game. Long shot for sure.

 

[shizzle787]

There is a soccer forum, btw.

 

[johnhuskies95]

According to this it's not quite in the same... ballpark.

Top 15 Sports Bets That Would Have Made You Rich

It has been said that some casinos were offering 1,000 to 1 odds at that point on the Mets to win the World Series, but most stories say it was 100 to 1.

Well those odds were from the middle of the season, actually past the middle of the season, if that site is accurate, not before the season started. But I'm just talking more about how the respective seasons played out and preseason outlooks in terms of comparisons.

Before 1969, the Mets had never finished better than 9th in a 10 team league. Their records had been 40-120, 51-111, 53-109, 50-112, 66-95, 61-101, and 73-89. Then they go and finish 100-62 and finish first in their league and even win the World Series. That's why I made the comparison to Leicester, both teams were relatively new to the "first division", had never had success in their organization's history, and ended up winning their league by having extremely successful seasons.

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

There is a soccer forum, btw.

Don't be that guy.
If you care in the slightest about sports, this is a fascinating story.

 

[ZooCougar]

We Do Not Dream | By Claudio Ranieri

Worth the read.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Love it. Soccer is my first sport and I have watched the PL since I was about 6 and its the most exciting story I can remember. My pops is a Tottenham fan and although he was disappointed he still is in awe and loves the story. I'm a Liverpool fan so I've been through a lot of hard times throughout the years, but this is probably cooler even to me than Liverpool winning the title.

 

[dennismenace]

1966 Texas Western NCAA champions. Not sure what the odds were. They were very talented but the
adversity was something else.

 

[CallMeBruce]

They're calling it the greatest 'underdog' story ever in sports. For us non soccer fans what would you say this (5000-1) would be comparable to in the NFL or NBA for understanding?

It's like if OJ found the real killer.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

I haven't looked at the standing in a couple of years but this tread caused me to check them out.
Good for the little guys, but what shocked me was Villia's demise.
I had a connection to Birmingham and Villian fans must be sick.
What hurts more is their lesser local Rival WBA apparently is safe.
I didn't see whose coming up but if City is one of teams that's even worse.
What's going on in English Football?

 

[intlzncster]

Is it akin to CCSU going undefeated last year? THOSE would be long odds.

For comparison:

The Cleveland Browns have the worst odds to win Super Bowl 51 at 150-1 and the lowest projected season win total at 4.5 (over minus-150).

Only 150-1.

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

They're calling it the greatest 'underdog' story ever in sports. For us non soccer fans what would you say this (5000-1) would be comparable to in the NFL or NBA for understanding?

On Christmas day 2015, the 76ers were 1-30. They had 5000-1 odds to win the NBA championship according to Bovada.

 

[Phorcys]

Villian fans must be sick.

We are. With the exception of Mark Emmert, Aston Villa’s owner, Randy Lerner, is the most loathsome human on the planet.

What makes the Leicester City story even more compelling is that the team was assembled for approximately 57 million pounds, less than half the amount current number two Tottenham spent to acquire its players, and in fact, less than Aston Villa wasted. Manchester City, currently fourth, is the most expensive Premier League squad, with the club having spent in excess of 400 million pounds on transfer fees. Usually in soccer, as in many other professional sports, the rich teams win.